Author: Matthew Barlow

Baby Bush Dude, It’s Rude Independent Baby Bush are a punk band from Philly, made up of a bunch of university students. Dude, It’s Rude is their introduction to the wider world, their manifesto, if you will. And that manifesto is made up of some angry feminist music. It’s soothing to the soul to hear the kids pissed off and insistent on changing the world. Hell, this is what punk is SUPPOSED to be: angry, biting, and fast. And Baby Bush are all three. Frontwoman (as an aside, my MacBook is telling me that that is not a word, whereas frontman, well, that’s fine) Eliana von Krusenstiern is of the Kathleen Hanna School of Punk Vocalry. She chants, screams, and yells her words. I am particularly fond of her work on ‘Strange Girl,’ which is auto-biograpgical, as it would seem. As any woman will tell you, it’s exhausting to be objectified, cat-called and otherwise harassed on her way through her day. It’s not just on this track, the entire 5-song ep repeats the same message. Musically, guitarist Emily Dombrovskaya lays down some minimalist riffs, her guitar never really getting in the way; she prefers the understated method. Meanwhile, rhythm section, bassist Sophia Abraham-Reveson and drummer Steve Campos-Seligman, lay down a pretty classic punk groove. Abraham-Reveson’s bass is prominent in the mix, keeping a live a long punk tradition. The joy...

Tim Burgess As I Was Now O Genesis Tim Burgess is better known as the frontman of the Charlatans UK (at least here in the US, in their native UK, they drop the UK from their name because, duh). The Charlies, as they were known in the UK music press during the Madchester days, aren’t actually a Manchester band, but got grouped into that scene in the late 80s. They just celebrated their 30th anniversary with a set of gigs in their native Northwich, UK. Burgess also has a great Twitter, and interacts with his fans a lot. So, anyway, he dropped this solo album like it was nothing, and doesn’t seem to be doing a hell of a lot of press. He doesn’t really have to, and dropping the album isn’t much effort for him, since he owns his own record label. The title derives from the fact it was actually recorded in three days between Christmas and New Year’s in 2008. And then, well, it seems Burgess thought he released it. And then, not so long ago, he was talking to Debbie Googe of My Bloody Valentine, who played on the album, and she asked him whatever became of the music. So, turns out he didn’t release it after all. And so here we are, his Record Store Day release for 2018, at least on the other...

Iceage Beyondless Matador Iceage are a Danish punk band, from the capital, Copenhagen. They’ve been around for a long time, forming when they were still teenagers in 2008. I came across them thanks to the Instagram feed of the Norwegian pop/punk band, Sløtface. I don’t know if I’d call this punk, but, then again, I have never really liked the idea of music categories. Whatever. Doesn’t matter. Iceage sound bratty and snotty, both musically and in terms of lyrics and delivery. And they write catchy as fuck songs. Iceage aren’t exactly unknowns, they’ve been signed to Matador, the premier indie label in the US, since 2012. And the first single from Beyondless was hyped by the Drunken Hipsters (Pitchfork, for the uninformed) as their single of the week. So those in the know have always been in the know, it seems. Beyondless is a wonderful album. This is a big album, compared to the band’s earlier discography. Frontman Elias Bender Rønnenfelt has always had a sharp eye for social criticism. And whereas the earlier albums were lean and taught, here, Iceage brings the noise, so to speak. The music churns and comes in crescendos. There are touches such as pianos and horns. But, most importantly, the songs are killer. They’re moody and hard-hitting. My personal favourite is the penultimate track, ‘Showtime,’ a moody, pulsing track. Rønnenfelt’s lyrics travel around the audience...

Courtney Barnett Tell Me How You Really Feel Milk Records/Mom and Pop/Marathon Courtney Barnett kind of came out of nowhere back in 2015 and just exploded onto the scene, at least in North America, with her début album, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. To call her a fresh voice is an understatement and she became the IT Girl of the moment. But she always came with a wry smile and knew very well that our tastes shift and her moment in the sun could be over tomorrow. The lyrics of the album’s hardest song, ‘Pedestrian At Best,’ noted that. But the thing is, Barnett didn’t just disappear. She won a bunch of awards in her native Australia for the album. She was also, at least to my eyes, the first of a new wave of Aussie artists to make it in North America. Of course, Australia has its own scene, and Aussie bands have been in fashion before, most notably in the 80s with Midnight Oil and the Church, as well as Crowded House, and others. But everything Aussie was cool in the late 80s, thanks to Michael J. ‘Crocodile’ Dundee. [Note to self, it might be time to watch Crocodile Dundee again]. We even got really crappy Australian beer out of it all, Foster’s Lager. And so maybe Australian music is cool again, with Barnett, her...

Venetian Snares/Daniel Lanois Venetian Snares X Daniel Lanois Independent Oh boy, this is a weird album. Daniel Lanois is known for his esoteric production; his solo oeuvre is more of the same, veering at times into unlistenable experimentation with the guitar. Venetian Snares, aka. Aaron Funk is an EDM god, progenitor of the breakcore genre, and signee to influential electronic label, Planet Mu. Turns out Lanois is a fan of Funk’s, and they began messing around with their music in 2014. The resulting album, did I mention it’s weird? Repeated listens have convinced me this is excellent music. But...